Recommend a useful guide on Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness

[Baas Babelaas]

I've taken an interest of late in Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness and would like to discover more about them.

Could you recommend some reading material that could get me through the basics of it all? Kindle books would be better, as that's what I'm using these days due to lack of access of hard material.

Thanks in advance

[cfimages]

Thich Nhat Hanh has some great books. It's been quite a few years since I read any Buddhism books so I probably can't recommend a specific title though.

This should go to the Kindle page for him.

If I think of any others, I'll add them in later.

[wix]

If you are looking for a "how to meditate" guide then try Being Nobody, Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema or Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield.

I also recommend books by Pema Chodron who was a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Also two of Trungpa's books that are essential reading are Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior and Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism.

[adikarmika]

Batchelor, Stephen. Buddhism Without Beliefs : A Contemporary Guide to Awakening. London : Bloomsbury, 1997 (Reprinted: New York: Riverhead Books, 1998).

This book is a good guide to Buddhism for modern, rational, thinking people.
It also teaches some essential Buddhist meditation techniques.

You might also like to look at Batchelor's most recent book, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist: (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010).
(Just noticed that the blurb on the back cover was written by Christopher Hitchens.)

[Zla'od]

What kind of Buddhism are you interested in? And what kind of meditation are you interested in doing? (Depending on what is meant by "meditation," not all forms of Buddhism emphasize it.)

[spitzig]

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse was the book that got me to really like Buddhism. It's a VERY fictional retelling of Buddha's story. It hits on the major points of the religion, though. I think maybe the fictional aspect is particularly appropriate for Buddhism, since (at least in some sects) "facts" don't matter so much, since the "history" of the religion doesn't really matter-it's the philosophy/teachings.

[adikarmika]

Yes, I remember reading Hesse at a young and impressionable age.
It was about the same time that I was reading the Beat Buddhists - Kerouac, Whalen, Watts, Ginsberg, Snyder, etc.
I still have their pictures stuck to my wall.

Although one does need to be a bit selective when it comes to Beat Buddhists, reading these writers did, I think, help me to find my "space" in meditation.
I find traditional meditation instructions a bit too formal, but maybe that's just me.

[superguavaguy]

What the Buddha Taught by Dr. Walpola Rahula is a classic. Will give you a good understanding of the key concepts.

[RTWu]

Mindfullness in Plain English by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana

[Charlie Phillips]

Why not forgo the books? Meditate and be mindful.

Simplify your life.